Current x-ray technologies work well for patients with straight teeth and nicely curving arches. However, many patients have teeth that are crooked. The result is x-rays that are non-diagnostic and cannot be used. Dentists and x-ray operators must repeatedly guess the angle of the mal-alignment and match that to the x-ray cone.
While the well-known Rinn holder (see, e.g. http://www.rinncorp.com/) is useful for preventing cone cuts, this device does not address the specific problem of aligning the x-ray cone and radiographic film for patients having crooked teeth or patients with unusually curved arches.
As a result of this problem, productive billing time for the dentist or x-ray operator is lost. It is estimated that each x-ray takes approximately two minutes to take and seven minutes to develop and analyze. Dentists may typically only bill for the clear x-ray images. Having to re-take the bitewing x-rays means not only lost billing time but also added cost of wasted x-ray films. For the patient, this represents inconvenience and a delay in diagnosis and treatment, not to mention extra exposure to x-ray radiation. Overall, the inability to reliably position a bitewing for x-raying crooked teeth is frustrating for dentists, x-ray operators and patients alike. There is thus a need in dentistry for a device and method that addresses this technical problem.